The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has made a significant progress in building an effective anti-corruption initiative in Bangladesh, said the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) suggesting reinforcement of the ACC's capacity to sustain a long term and comprehensive battle to roll back corruption.
The UNDP made the observation in a study that examined the work of the ACC to date and options to bolster its long term sustainability.
'The Commission's efforts have sent a powerful message to the Bangladesh public that corruption can no longer be tolerated and that each person can and must play an important role in reducing it. What is needed now is to reinforce the ACC's capacity to sustain a long term and comprehensive battle to roll back corruption,' UNDP Resident Representative Renata Dessallien said while releasing the study report at a press conference Tuesday.
According to the UNDP, the study was conducted following a request of the ACC. The UNDP Bangladesh conducted the study on Sustainability Assessment of the ACC from June 12 to July 15, 2008.
During the period, a team of national and international experts worked alongside the ACC and other government institutions to examine how the Commission can build its institutional capacity to tackle corruption in the longer term. The team undertook its research through a large number of interviews with ACC officials and other experts, case studies, field visits, and statistical surveys.
In his briefing, international expert Michael Th. Johnson praised the ACC for its remarkable achievements to date, including sending a strong message that nobody is above the law and everybody must be held accountable.
'Given the starting point 18 months ago, the ACC's achievements to date have been monumental. Very few commissions in other countries have made as much progress in such a short time,' he added.
Looking to the future, he stressed the importance of consolidating the institutional achievements and taking the next steps toward achieving the ACC's goals.
He explained that the ACC was working through many of the same challenges. He stressed the need to develop the organisational capacity of the Commission to plan and manage for the future.
'It is not surprising, given the workload of the ACC that its focus has been very much directed on day-to-day management of case work, but in order to maintain and prioritise the work of the ACC these efforts require enhanced strategic planning,' he added.
The sustainability has mission found that the Commission is hampered by a number of legacy issues which date back to its predecessor, the ineffective Bureau of Anti-Corruption. In addition, the ACC's civil service system needs to ensure that the institution gets and retains high calibre and specialised core staff.
He also said the development of the ACC capacity to undertake a mid-to-long term strategic plan is the fundamental cornerstone needed to take the ACC forward.
ACC director general (Admin) Col Hanif Iqbal underlined his appreciation for the study and said the Commission would carefully study its recommendations. He agreed that the organisational capacity to continue anti-corruption efforts must be reinforced.
'The people of Bangladesh have a strong desire to tackle corruption and the ACC has the responsibility of meeting the public's expectations,' he added.
The study came up with some recommendations that included improving the management of investigation and prosecution, establishment of an advisory council of experts to provide oversight and extra capacity, bolstering project planning and management capacity, building a research unit which would examine the nature of corruption and new ways of confronting it, strengthening financial planning and budget management and developing an internal civil service system to ensure that the ACC can train and retain staff with specific expertise in effectively addressing corruption, improving the ACC's ability to interact directly with the public by establishing 'hotlines' and other support for the Corruption Prevention Committees across Bangladesh.
